FAYOSE CANNOT SLEEP

THE crisis rocking Ekiti State House of Assembly which has pitched legislators elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) against Governor Ayo Fayose of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is not about to abate as it was gathered at the weekend that the APC lawmakers have received a strong backing of their party to intensify the fight.


Sources close to the party in Abuja told Sunday Tribune at the weekend that party leaders were of the view that Fayose should be taught a lesson, especially when the party has the required two-third majority needed to impeach him.

“The battle of Ekiti is not about to abate, I can tell you this authoritatively. The lawmakers from Ekiti in their several meetings in Lagos last week received the needed boost from the party. The leaders have urged them to go ahead and do what is legal to seize their position and, if the need arises, invoke impeachment clauses against the governor,” a source told Sunday Tribune.

It was gathered that the legislators used the occasion of their trip to Lagos last week to feel the pulse of the party leaders and analyse the challenges ahead of them to the party leaders.

The legislators were said to have told the party that Governor Fayose was ready to strangulate them financially and that the governor had vowed to seize their allowances and entitlements.

The lawmakers opined that apart from threats to their lives in the state, the governor was also making it difficult for them to access their entitlements.

A source quoted one of the lawmakers as saying that while the PDP lawmakers, who are faithful to Fayose are being accorded all benefits, the governor has vowed to deal with the APC lawmakers.

One of the lawmakers was quoted as saying, “In this election season, we all know what it means engaging a blind fighter like Fayose. He is ready to battle us to the ground and we have it on good authority that he is leaving nothing to chance and has vowed to completely neutralise us. If our resources are held and we are not safe to enter the state to campaign, this is dangerous not only for us but for our party.”

It was, however, gathered that help could be coming the way of the lawmakers, as leaders of the party have not only told them to intensify the battle against Fayose but also forget about any entitlements from the government.

One of the governors, who alerted about the plight of the lawmakers, was said to have promised to take up the payment of their salaries and entitlements for as long as the battle lasts.

The party has told the lawmakers to carry on. Their salaries and entitlements are guaranteed as one of our governors from the South-South has promised to offset their bills.

The governor, who was said to have told the party of his own experience in his state, was said to have insisted that the lawmakers should not negotiate with Fayose, adding that with their number, they could run Fayose out of office.

Meanwhile, the police in Ekiti State is now on red alert and would increase security operations across the state following what it said was report of planned invasion of the state by hoodlums.

The Ekiti Police Command said in a statement made available to newsmen in Ado Ekiti, on Saturday, that it had “received an intelligence report that some group of people are planning to invade the state to disrupt the existing peace and cause break down of law and order.”

The statement signed on behalf of the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Taiwo Lakanu, by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Victor Babayemi, said following the report, the command “has raised the alert level of the personnel,” and added that the CP “has directed policemen all over the state to commence high visibility patrol.”

The statement added that “stop and search operations to prevent criminal infiltration of the state and importation of dangerous weapons” had also commenced in parts of the state.

The Ekiti CP warned “political actors in the state and their followers to respect constituted authority and due process,” and added that “they are also advised to refrain from taking laws into their hands and desist from the use of thugs to pursue their agenda.”